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Vicious108

2009-12-20 10:28

Not a single post yet? And here I thought people would be going crazy over the twist already.

Anyways, this episode was filled with moments I loved in the manga and was looking forward to seeing animated, but unfortunately those came out rather underwhelming in Brotherhood, due to poor art, bland facial expressions, bad camera direction and skipped lines.

The best part was the preview for next episode, which looks great.

Kirarakim

2009-12-20 12:45

From what I've seen most people have been accidentally spoiled for the reveal anyways at this point (and then you have the people waiting for subs). So it's definitely not as exciting as it was for people reading the manga because at that point no one had guessed (well except for Csakuras who sometimes posts on here).

kitten320

2009-12-20 17:02

I'm waiting for the subs since I can't use torrent to download the file... but I can watch on-line with subtitles.

quigonkenny

2009-12-20 17:55

[unmentionable torrent site] is down. I'm sure a lot of people are too busy trying to find the episode to have seen it yet. Don't even know if it's been subbed yet.

- The Ed and Kimblee conversation. That was one of my favorite scenes from the manga so I could easily tell that a LOT of lines were skipped, some of which were essential to explaining Kimblee's character. For example, when Ed calls him insane in the manga it goes a little more like this:

Spoiler:

Ed: "I can't believe a maniac like you passed the state alchemist interview process."Kimblee: "Anyone can pass themselves off as a normal person in situations like that, provided they know what does and doesn't constitute heresy.Ed: "Heresy?"Kimblee: "Indeed. I'm fully aware that the current world would brand me a heretic. And yet, the fact that I survive means the world has accepted me. (...)"

So yeah.

Other than that it was a solid episode. And once again I can't stress how good the animation looks in the preview for the next episode.

DragoZERO

2009-12-21 22:53

Whoa, that was...insane. I never expected the kid to be Pride. And the deal with Hawkeye, she's got guts!

And I think the anime version is better. It puts an emphasis on his innocent outward appearance, since he's gotta transform into something more menacing eventually. Don't forget the eye catch, the second one particularly. And now the OP makes more sense with all of the shadows chasing Al & the short bit with the soldiers and horses being swallowed/engulfed.

Winry!! You heart-breaker! I guess going with Ed & Al is best, they'll be able to keep an eye on her. BUT, they always seem to find trouble (tough being a hero) so it's gonna be dangerous. Ed really laid it on thick in that cell too, no tact with that conversation.

I think Briggs is gonna get attacked or something while Ed & Al are away. Actually, I hope it does since I don't want them involved.

saravis

2009-12-22 00:22

Well I am happy to say that I had no idea about the twist, so it was certainly a pleasant surprise. I find it strange that Kimbley didn't think that informing Winry that she was a hostage was "unnecessary information". He played that big charade to get her completely off her guard to make her that much easier of a hostage, but now that she knows, she'll be more on guard. Maybe he just doesn't care.

Karlson

2009-12-22 00:27

In a nutshell...

Animation Budget crits Pride's shadows for 99999 damage

Pride's shadows dies

Animation Budget is victorious :heh:

Just the way they tried to blend the eyes and teeth into the scenery without its shadow lining was bad enough, but then to see said eyes and teeth moving along the scenery (in this case...tunnel walls) without it too as they close in on the soldiers...good lord. That just did not come out very well at all for me.

Unfortunately this problem somewhat affects my perception of how the anime handled the big reveal of Pride's identity as the problem presents itself once again (only this time the movement of the eyes and teeth is scarce thank god). Still it wavered on the unsettling side of the spectrum with how it played out for me and thus gets a passing grade despite that flaw and the rather notable change of Pride's facial expressions (personal preference on my part but it is the primary reason that scene was so memorable for me in the manga outside of the pure shock value of it all so that disappoints me).

The rest of the episode was fine although I remember there being more to that conversation between Kimblee and Ed.

Edit - Couldn't decide between 7 or 8 so I just gave the episode a 7.5 in the end and rounded it up.

And yeah to everyone that actually got spoiled of that twist before it actually happened that really does suck, it was one of those twists that got me totally off guard when I found out myself so I'm sorry to hear that.

Narzia

2009-12-22 04:26

The anime did a rather poor job at keeping Pride's identity a secret by focusing too much on him. And the scene where Hawkeye notices him standing behind her was an obvious clue with the shadow hand (there's no hand in the manga).
Let's not even talk about the earlier episode where (I think) they used the same Seiyuu for Pride's voice when he wasn't revealed yet.

I also missed the lines where he tells her not to speak of this, or her friends and Mustang would suffer unspeakable pain. It's obvious, but I still missed the lines. :/

And you don't put "The First Homunculus" in your episode title.. even if the manga did the same. Especially not combined with obvious clues in the same episode before the reveal itself.

monir

2009-12-22 04:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight
(Post 2832172)

Having now watched it subbed, I must say that this episode was better than I initially gave it credit for.

You've got the wrong timecode for the anime screenshots. I don't have the episode at the moment, but there is a screenshot matching the manga panel. In that one, Pride's eyes are glowing red as he is standing in the shadow. He appears just as creepy and menacing. His apparent innocence portrayed due to the fact he has the face of a child only makes it so much more sinister just because he massacared a group so brutally earlier.

The thing is it is much more difficult for someone who is already familiar with a source material to appreciate the anime version as much as someone who is watching the anime for the first time. Also, if I want to compare that panel with the anime, I need to consider how many times did these animators drew Pride's face in that brief meet between him and Mustang's wife (she is in my eyes :cool:) unlike the manga panels where the faces are drawn once and the finishing touch (shadowing) applied by the grunts/assistant. So I always find it an incomplete evaluation/comparison whenever the subject of supriority is brought in the mix of anime vs. manga as far as art is concerned. Try coloring that panel, and see if you still hold the same opinion. :)

As for this episode, I enjoyed it. The mystery wasn't as impressive, and no I wasn't spoiled but it wasn't too hard to figure it out who it might have been. While this episode was good, the previous episode was better. This episode, however, had a lot of built-up for the upcoming ones.

DragoZERO

2009-12-22 09:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by saravis
(Post 2832270)

Well I am happy to say that I had no idea about the twist, so it was certainly a pleasant surprise. I find it strange that Kimbley didn't think that informing Winry that she was a hostage was "unnecessary information". He played that big charade to get her completely off her guard to make her that much easier of a hostage, but now that she knows, she'll be more on guard. Maybe he just doesn't care.

The "unnecessary information" is about the homunculus and all of that. I also think that Kimblee is there for fun and if it suits his amusement, he'd either kill or save Winry depending on the situation.

Blasted original series skewed me impression of him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by monir
(Post 2832469)

You've got the wrong timecode for the anime screenshots. I don't have the episode at the moment, but there is a screenshot matching the manga panel. In that one, Pride's eyes are glowing red as he is standing in the shadow. He appears just as creepy and menacing. His apparent innocence portrayed due to the fact he has the face of a child only makes it so much more sinister just because he massacared a group so brutally earlier.

The thing is it is much more difficult for someone who is already familiar with a source material to appreciate the anime version as much as someone who is watching the anime for the first time. Also, if I want to compare that panel with the anime, I need to consider how many times did these animators drew Pride's face in that brief meet between him and Mustang's wife (she is in my eyes :cool:) unlike the manga panels where the faces are drawn once and the finishing touch (shadowing) applied by the grunts/assistant. So I always find it an incomplete evaluation/comparison whenever the subject of supriority is brought in the mix of anime vs. manga as far as art is concerned. Try coloring that panel, and see if you still hold the same opinion. :)

It was the eye catch that had that manga panel.

Quote:

As for this episode, I enjoyed it. The mystery wasn't as impressive, and no I wasn't spoiled but it wasn't too hard to figure it out who it might have been. While this episode was good, the previous episode was better. This episode, however, had a lot of built-up for the upcoming ones.

It wasn't until Salem snuck up on Hawkeye that I thought he was something more. And even then I wasn't sure, but that was indeed a surprise. I do agree that last week was better, having Winry show up like that was a kicker.

kitten320

2009-12-22 09:13

Finally saw the episode. Was waiting for that moment with Pride for a very long time! Now need to wait for more Olivier screentime.

Ed definetly loves Winry, otherwise he wouldn't be reactinglike this.

Kimblee sure kmows how to get humans' trust.

Shiroth

2009-12-22 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight
(Post 2832172)

And once again I can't stress how good the animation looks in the preview for the next episode.

Indeed it does, though this is going to be one episode that needs to look so damn good. I'm looking forward to a outstanding visual episode.

I pretty much share the same problems as you in this episode, especially with the lines missed from the ED and Kimblee conversation scene. It's understandable, though at the same time such a shame.

Winry had some of her best scenes in this episode, and they were rather nice to see animated.

Vicious108

2009-12-22 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by monir
(Post 2832469)

You've got the wrong timecode for the anime screenshots.

No, I don't. It's in that screenshot that he says "My name is Pride. The first Homunculus." just like in the manga panel. That's the key moment of the scene and in the manga it just looked a lot better. That's all there is to it.

Karlson

2009-12-22 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narzia
(Post 2832454)

Let's not even talk about the earlier episode where (I think) they used the same Seiyuu for Pride's voice when he wasn't revealed yet.

I think Bones even lists them having the same seiyuu too so with enough research one could've potentially connected the dots and figured it out like that. In fact someone actually did just that some episode threads back if I recall.

Rika24

2009-12-22 19:37

good episode, i'm just a little annoyed that they left out a scene i really liked (yes i know, there were more important parts but i can still be mad)

Spoiler for left out scene:

i was hoping that they'd include the part where Riza goes home and get's scared by Hayate. then Roy calls and makes her feel better. i so badly want an anime pic of her hugging Hayate to use as an avatar :(